More Yoshiwara Oiran Parade

More photos from the Oiran parade in Tokyo’s Asakusa district last weekend. I have been going for a few years now and this year the crowd was the biggest yet. Maybe word is getting out? There is a far bigger parade with several orian in Kitashinagawa every year that has far fewer people. I guess Asakusa is just better branded than Kitashinagawa (although Kitashinagawa also lays claim to some great Godzilla fame!). The day was sunny and the crowds wild. At the end of the parade I got a chance to sneak up in front and get some group photos of the main participants just before they turned around and went to their temporary headquarters in a nearby school. I love the face one of the young assistants to the oiran is making in one of the photos, she must have had an itchy nose!

The orian have a very special way of walking, as in every third step they take they sweep their feet very low in a wide arc, difficult to catch in photos but it looks quite spectacular and is unique as far as I know. You can tell from their three-pronged (remember that normal Japanese shoes have two prongs while monks and tengu have one!) shoes and the way they are scratched bare how low they go in that special step.

Wow… Just found this blog… Great photos!
I wonder where you’re getting the information schedules of the cultural events in Tokyo… I currently live in Chiba and I would really want to witness those sorts of things too (cultural parades, temple shows, etc…)

Hi! Thank you for your kind comment. I use all kinds of blogs, also twitter, friends, posters etc. It is really tough finding stuff, there are no good collections where they post all events and I usually miss about 99% of all things that happen during the year in Tokyo. It is heartbreaking to miss so much good stuff but what can you do? (^-^;)

Hurry up and learn to read Kanji! At least the ones you need for place names. (^-^) I use several different lenses, but the trio I use the most this year is a 135mm f2.0, a 85mm f1.8 and a 17-35mm f2.8. All of them Nikkor. I don’t like zoom lenses but for wide angle shots it is hard to find good primes (I LOVE the 20mm f2.0 but I have wrecked mine and haven’t found a replacement of this fantastic but out of production lens). I sometimes use the 50-500mm Bigma, and a 50mm f1.4 Nikon, but the Bigma is too huge (and has relatively bad contrast) and again, I have wrecked my 50mm lens. When you shoot everyday like I do even quality lenses wear out over time! (^-^)